Hiawatha, Iowa, USA – Crystal Group Inc., a trusted manufacturer of rugged commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) custom-developed computers, displays, switches, and storage devices, announced today that the company has expanded its production capabilities with the addition of conformal coating automation and two state-of-the-art CNC machines.

Crystal Group’s new conformal coating machine produces a consistent and repeatable application of protective covering on circuit boards used for the company’s rugged computer products.

"Our growth in sales orders has driven expansion in our production line as well as our CNC foot print," commented Michael Kruger, Crystal Group’s Vice President of Manufacturing. “Our ability to enhance product reliability by manufacturing consistently high quality rugged units can help increase product uptime and reduce potentially costly early field breakdowns.”

Conformal coating automation allows the company to produce consistent coating protection on circuit board topography. These coatings are used to protect circuit boards against moisture, chemicals, large temperature variations, mechanical vibration and other harsh environment conditions. The conformal coating application is programmable and includes an automated curing system.

Last year the company moved its CNC operation to a new 10,000 square foot facility adjacent to the Crystal Group factory in Hiawatha, Iowa. This month two new high speed CNCs were added and became operational to service the company’s growing need for precision milled aluminum components used in the rugged chassis manufacturing and to meet accelerated turnaround times.